Blue Mountain Farm Blog

What is a line of draft?  No it is not a queue for more beer on tap.    It refers to the line of leverage from the point of where your horse starts pushing against his collar to were the trace is attached to the cart or carriage.  This angle is equivalent to a person pushing a heavily loaded wheel barrow.  That person will, depending upon their own strength and conformation, and how the load in the barrow is balanced, raise or lower the handles to most efficiently and comfortably move the load along.

This aiding and abetting efficiency and comfort is why we care about line of draft in our cart/carriage horses.   The horse in harness cannot adjust his harness or balance the load himself; his observant driver needs to do this for him.   The more you keep your harness animal comfortable, the happier and easier he will work.

Line of draft with a Breast Collar - maximum efficiency is if the line is straight back and level.

Line of draft on a Neck Collar. The goal is to have the weight bearing collar have even pressure completely around the neck. This is achieved by taking into consideration the angle of the shoulders the collar rests on, and the angle of the line pulling down on the collar. These lines can be tweaked by where the traces are attached to the hames themselves depending upon if your carriage attachment is higher or lower.

An article on my Fjord Pair turnout may be found at: http://bluemountainfarm.net/fjord10.htm

An awesome harness resource is:

Understanding Harness by Barb Lee

http://www.wildhorsebooks.com/harness.htm

I just love this clip; I think it can speak for itself about the beauty of horses and the relationships we can achieve with them.

American Buff Geese and just hatched goslings

I have always enjoyed the personalities of waterfowl.  My lovely pair of yearling American Buff Geese, hatched out their first clutch of goslings this summer.   They laid 6 eggs and hatched them all successfully.  Obviously they are protective and good parents.  American Buff Geese are listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy.      Though protective of their young, American Buff Geese are normally quite docile and gentle, if not teased.